08/24/2024
PARISH TIMELINE:
1918 First SS. Cyril & Methodius Church erected on Heintz & Foster Streets in Detroit, Michigan.
1918 August 7 – Father John Kovalsky appointed first resident pastor.
1922 March 22 – Father Joseph Zalibera appointed pastor to succeed Father Kovalsky.
First Parish Church, Detroit 1922
1923 April 19 – Property purchased for a new church and school building at Centerline and Marcus Avenues.
1923 August 15 – Slovak Dominican Sisters came to Detroit.
1923 September 8 – Temporary parish school opened in the old church building. First teachers: Sister Mary DeSales Zavodnik and Sister Mary Joseph Gazda.
1925 April 19 – Groundbreaking for new church and school building.
1925 November 29 – Blessing of Cornerstone by Bishop Michael J. Gallagher.
1926 May 9 – Opening of auditorium as first completed unit of new parish building.
1926 November 1 – First Holy Mass held in the auditorium.
1926 November 2 – Opening of Elementary School in the new building with over 300 students enrolled.
1927 May – Groundbreaking for first Motherhouse of Slovak Dominican Sisters at Van D**e & 13 Mile Road in Warren, Michigan.
1929 December 25 – First Holy Mass held in new SS. Cyril & Methodius Church proper (Midnight Mass).
Second Parish Church, Detroit 1955
1936 June 5 – Father Zalibera petitioned Detroit City Council to change the name of Centerline Avenue to Saint Cyril Avenue. The request was unanimously approved.
1939 October – New and larger Motherhouse acquired by Dominican Sisters on Scott Lake in Pontiac (now Waterford) through the generosity of Edward Cardinal Mooney, Archbishop of Detroit.
1943 November 21 – Silver Jubilee celebration of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church and consecration of marble altars by Edward Cardinal Mooney.
1945 September – The first unit of St. Cyril High School was completed.
1948 Acquisition of 800 acres for Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in Oxford, Michigan.
1949 June 12 – First High School graduation with 36 students.
St. Cyril High Graduation
1951 St. Cyril High School completed.
1956 Father Zalibera celebrated the 50th Anniversary of his Ordination. In honor of his anniversary, the church was redecorated through the generosity of the parishioners.
Pastor Joseph Zalibera
1957 November 6 – Groundbreaking for Dominican Sisters convent on church property.
1959 September 27 – Blessing of the convent by Bishop Henry Donnelly.
1961 February – Due to failing health, Father Zalibera resigned from the parish. His retirement was spent at his home on the grounds of the Dominican Sisters in Oxford, Michigan. He served as pastor of SS. Cyril & Methodius Church for 39 years.
The Second Church
1961 Father Andrew Forish was appointed pastor to succeed Father Zalibera.
1967 June – Father Joseph Nosal appointed pastor to succeed Father Forish.
1969 SS. Cyril & Methodius welcomed Slovak refugees emigrating to the United States from the Communist regime of Czechoslovakia after the invasion by the armies of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.
1971 February 28 – Father Elemír Mikuš, also a refugee, arrived at SS. Cyril & Methodius and was assigned as an assistant.
1971 June – St. Cyril’s Elementary School and High School close.
1977 Father Elemír Mikuš appointed pastor to succeed Father Nosal.
1982 Property purchased at Ryan & 18 Mile Road in Sterling Heights for a new church.
1985 June 30 – Groundbreaking for the new church
